Rizana Bakhtiyeva: "Do good and the world will become a better place!"

28 february 2024

Our February issue of the About People and Good Deeds column features an interview with POLIEF’s Rizana Bakhtieva discussing the launch of her volunteering career, the projects she has already completed, and ways to inspire people to doing good.

Could you please tell us a few things about yourself, about your main occupation?
I am currently on maternity leave. But before going on maternity leave, I had the job of a lead expert at my employer’s HR department. I was responsible for personnel training, development and assessment.

You started volunteering in 2017. Please share with our readers how your volunteering journey got started?
I recall that back in 2017 a corporate volunteering program got launched as part of SIBUR's social investment program. The company put out a call for making applications to a grant contest of volunteering projects initiated by SIBUR’s employees. I had always been quite a creative person myself, and there were a lot of people around me who were also involved in creativity making handicrafts, doing handiwork and creating beautiful items. So, naturally, as soon as I learned that one can win a grant and share their creativity, skills and knowledge with others, I suggested to my friends that we should give it a try. We got organized and I filed an application for a grant for the implementation of a project that we called "Craftswomen’s Antics". On New Year's Eve, we held a series of free master classes for residents of our city in celebration of this great holiday. Our master classes focused on such topics as manufacturing tangerine oranges out of plastics, clay molding, building snowflakes from glass beads.

How did your idea of the project resonate with the residents of your city?
I had engaged the services of seven volunteers or so. Each of them was put in charge of their own job: some of them were going to be dealing with the plastics, the others would be handling the beads. In the end, we ended up teaching about ten master classes. There were a lot of people wishing to take part. But, of course, we could not take in all of them. Because, first, there was simply not enough room to fit them all in. And, secondly, it would have been too difficult to handle such a crowd. So we decided to limit the number of available seats in the classroom.

Your volunteering activities are also aimed at helping people with disabilities. Why did you decide to work with this particular group of people?
To be honest, when I was about to make my very first application for a grant to implement a project for the benefit of children with disabilities, it was a bit scary. Because I had had no prior experience of working with such children. I had my doubts: “What if they don’t accept me, what if something goes haywire?” But after teaching our first master class, it became clear to me that these children are very open and kind. What particularly amazed me at the time is that they aren’t shy to openly express their emotions. After our master classes, they’d walk up to you to give you a hug. In fact, they seem to be even more open than regular children: they are always excited to see you if they run into you on the street, they always give you a shout-out, wave a hand, ask when the next class would be taking place. They are just like all children: beautiful and easy to be around.

Thanks to the support of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program, you have already succeeded in implementing 11 volunteering projects. You are going to carry out 3 more projects this year. Where do you get your ideas for your new master classes?
We never repeat our master classes, we always think up something new. As for the ideas, the Formula for Good Deeds program itself can at times be a great source. Last year, the Formula for Good Deeds brought to our city of Blagoveshchensk a project called The Power of the Word . My own children are still quite little, so I brought them along to a number of events aimed at children, including a book club that came to visit us from Ufa. I really liked their format: they would read a book and discuss it while also working on something with their own hands. I had not been exposed before to such formats in our city. That is why I decided to launch, in 2024, our own Wise Owl Children's Book Club to help children develop a habit of reading, because this is actually an acute problem nowadays as everyone seems to be absorbed in their phones and tablets. Secondly, it gives the kids an opportunity to discuss the book they’ve just read and then build something with their own hands. Plus, this way they can learn something new from reading books. We have already held an event dedicated to Leo Lionni’s book Little Blue and Little Yellow that teaches children about the three main colors: blue, yellow, and red, and about creating new colors by combining these three. I am also subscribed to many creativity clubs, because I myself am fond of drawing and handcrafting. I regularly borrow ideas from these groups.

If your volunteering activities could have a motto, what would it be?
I think it would be something like this: 'Do good and the world will become a better place!' I know this firsthand. When I am implementing a project, people walk up to me and offer their help. Many do want to help and are ready to share their warmth, kindness and caring attitude with others. I believe that if every one of us goes out and does something good for this world, then those who are used to sitting on their couches would definitely get up and go do something good, too.

You are definitely a great example for the residents of your city. Which specific kind deeds have you been able to inspire them to with your own projects?
We have this sole proprietor Liana Yaroshevich. Last year, she accosted me and offered me to use her premises so that we could hold our events there in a way that is most convenient for us. Another young lady offered to teach a free master class on ebru –the art of drawing on the surface of water. The kids themselves also get inspired and are progressing in what they do: one of my students has started drawing on a regular basis and periodically sends me his pictures.

Last year, Blagoveshchensk hosted the Woman of the Year 2023 awards, with you emerging as the winner in the Kind Heart category. What does this award mean to you personally?
First of all, this was the first time that I had received such an award, the "Woman of the Year" award. Especially in such a category as the "Kind Heart". After all, this is what I have been busy doing lately. It was extremely nice and touching to get it, because now it’s not just me and the participants of my projects who know about it, but also other people who, as it turns out, have been supporting me and appreciating the contribution that my team and I have been making to society.

What advice would you offer to novice volunteers?
Most importantly, do not be afraid of anything and try and do things. I am confident that thousands of experienced volunteers would be willing to help each rookie volunteer. My advice is: march ahead, do not stop, because no impediments can scare us. We are one big team where each member is always ready to help you get your plans materialized. And, of course, whenever needed, do not hesitate to contact your friends and colleagues as there will always be someone among them who would be ready to share their resources with you and support you. I had had some apprehensions about one of my projects for 2024, the one called "I can" which is aimed at assisting children with disabilities with their adaptation to society through athletic activities under the "Mother and Child" program. It includes mixed classes for parents with children with disabilities. I had my doubts: what if I can't do this, or won't find those who can help me. I turned to my colleagues and they supported me right away! We are so powerful and strong as the team of SIBUR’s volunteers that we should not be afraid of any challenges.

Would you mind sharing your plans for the future: do you intend to continue developing and scaling up your volunteering activities?
I would very much like to turn my projects into more regular clubs where we would be able meet with our participants every week at a certain regular time, at the same place. Perhaps, this is not just my dream, but also the dream of my projects’ participants as well. We have been accorded an opportunity to submit our grant applications not only within SIBUR’s range of activities, but also within the framework of activities supported by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, or Rosmolodezh. That is why I am very hopeful that in the near future these projects would translate into some very specific lines of action.

At the conclusion of our interview, would you perhaps offer some parting words to your colleagues and volunteers?
There is no need to be afraid of anything, you have got to keep moving forward. We are stronger together. We will definitely be able to move mountains and make this world much kinder!

To learn more about SIBUR's volunteers and upcoming volunteering campaigns, visit our pages on VKontakte and on Telegram.

In case you missed our past issues:

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To learn more about SIBUR's volunteers and upcoming volunteering campaigns, visit our pages on VKontakte and on Telegram.

In case you missed our past issues:

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To learn more about SIBUR's volunteers and upcoming volunteering campaigns, visit our pages on VKontakte and on Telegram.

In case you missed our past issues:

Warm Hearts Despite the Weather: SIBUR Volunteers Support the "Nekrasovka" Shelter

Moscow, 5 March

Over 3,000 residents of Nizhnekamsk visited the "The Age of Plastic" exhibition

Nizhnekamsk, 2 March

Results of the "Good Deed Parcel" Campaign at ZapSibNeftekhim

Tobolsk, 20 February